episode titles

I copied the descriptions below from the BBC3 website while the series was first being broadcast, though it doesn't actually give title. BTW Amazon are selling the series 1 DVD set now (10-Dec-06) for just £5!

Episode Guide Series 1

Follow Chris Crudelli's journey around the Far East as he learns from the masters.

1. At a builder's merchants in Cardiff, Chris invites six strong men to push him over. Needless to say, they don't succeed. Extraordinary martial arts secrets are exposed for the first time, from deadly shouting to a van pulled by a penis. In Hong Kong we show what happens when a sledgehammer cracks bricks on a man’s head and in Taiwan a trained hand crushes a steel pipe.

2. Fighting as entertainment is the theme of this episode. It takes Chris from a fight club in Taipei to a film set in Beijing, where he is taught how to fly in 'Crouching Tiger' fashion. In the UK, two female show wrestlers take Chris through their paces and in Hong Kong the spirit of Bruce Lee is invoked by a sprightly 80-year-old.

3. A deserted village in China is the setting for a Daoist sect to invoke spirits that protect against blades, blows and fire. In the Philippines the protective power of amulets is machete tested on a man’s stomach. None of this helps Chris when he meets Master Ushiro in Japan. Teacher of the FBI and the Russian Special Forces, Ushiro is a master of the original Okinawan karate. Fast, lethal and very effective he makes grown men crumble. Ouch.

4. Master Presas in the Philippines reveals the Martial Arts techniques hidden in simple dance steps. Chris meets his match on the Great Wall of China, as a master of ancient Tai Qi uses him for target practise. Back in the UK, we see life saving techniques on a beach in Cornwall and self-defence tricks on the streets of Brixton.

5. There's a bone to pick with meat packers at Smithfield Market in London. Chris learns the secrets of Philippine machete fighting, and discovers the ancient art of horseback archery in a Shinto temple in Japan. Meanwhile, in a busy Hong Kong kitchen, The Living Treasure of China teaches Kung Fu cooking as well as some elegant nut-cracking moves. In the UK, pizza delivery boys learn how to dish it out when it cuts up rough.

6. A Southend pub provides the setting for an everyday guide to martial arts. In Japan, two men fight with swords on a deserted beach. When Chris follows them into their dojo the Master finger wrestles him to the ground. In Wales rugby players are effortlessly converted to 'Kung Fu' drinking games, meanwhile the Taiwanese anti-terrorist SWAT team engage in some real life martial mayhem.

7. A Glasgow fairground wheel makes Chris Crudelli find his balance and cab drivers in Cardiff reap the benefits. Meanwhile, in Japan, Master Tanaka and his daughter excel in the art of the sword. Chopping down arrows in mid flight can only be done "when you and the sword are one." The same intuitive relationship allows Master Presas in the Philippines to stick fight whilst blind-folded. The power of intuition and developing a sixth sense is what drives the acolytes of Master Aoki in Japan to stand under a freezing cold waterfall. Chris can’t resist joining them for a cold shower and attempts to improve his pre-emptive talents into the bargain.

8. Chris gets in the firing line of some of the most dangerous martial artists in Asia. In the Philippines a weapon maker mixes deadly spiders with steel, while in Japan Chris narrowly escapes a Ninja pole head trap. Animals provide inspiration as Chris eats scorpions in a Beijing market and the energy of the snake and leopard are harnessed in the Hong Kong docks.

9. Chris encounters deadly moves - from samurai decapitation skills to the legendary death touch. Hairdressers in Glasgow reap the benefit of his skills, learning new things to do with a hairbrush, while a Southend tattoo parlour becomes the venue for some serious ‘Chi’ work. Engaging in a spot of river fighting in the Philippines, Chris learns how to invoke the spirits from the dead and to protect himself with amulets and Latin prayers.

10. From ‘Praying Mantis’ insect style kung fu to a serious poke in the eye, get inside the secretive world of martial arts with Chris Crudelli. In the Philippines stick fighting has never been so fast and in Taiwan we uncover unbelievable physical feats involving bottle openers and fingers, steel rods and eyeballs, cleavers and toes. For the first time, Asia's most dangerous fighting masters reveal their skills.